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What Car? says...

The Citroën C1 is up against some seriously strong rivals in the competitive city car class, such as the Volkswagen Up and Hyundai i10.

As if those two weren't enough to worry about, the C1 also has to take on its stablemates, the Toyota Aygo and Peugeot 108. With all three cars sharing the same basic engineering DNA, it’s only their styling and pricing, and the small differences in specifications, that will matter to customers.

Only one engine – a frugal 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol – is available and it comes with the choice of a five-speed manual gearbox or a five-speed ETG automated manual.

The C1 comes in a choice of three or five doors, and there is also an open-top Airscape version that has a retractable fabric roof. Read on over the next few pages to get our in-depth impressions of the C1 and see how we think it compares with its rivals. And, remember, if you decide you want to buy one, make sure you check out our New Car Buying service to see how a big a discount you could get on the brochure price.

There are 8 trims available for the C1 hatchback. Click to see details.See all versions

OUR PICK

Feel

Citroën says the most popular specification is mid-range Feel – and it’s our favourite, too. It comes with a plastic steering wheel and gearknob, and no rev counter (it’s a cost option), but it doe...View trim

Splash out a little more for Flair and you get quite a few extras, including alloy wheels, a colour reversing camera, a speed limiter, foglights, chrome details and electric and heated door mirrors...View trim

Citroën says the most popular specification is mid-range Feel – and it’s our favourite, too. It comes with a plastic steering wheel and gearknob, and no rev counter (it’s a cost option), but it doe...View trim

Splash out a little more for Flair and you get quite a few extras, including alloy wheels, a colour reversing camera, a speed limiter, foglights, chrome details and electric and heated door mirrors...View trim

Entry-level Touch is cheap, but it doesn't get much. Front electric windows, LED daytime running lights, a trip computer and a USB socket do feature, but we’d recommend spending more on Feel if pos...View trim